The John Denver: A Rocky Mountain High Concert tribute show that played Wednesday at Easton’s State Theatre and featured Denver’s imagine projected on a big screen while a live band played with it, wasn’t creepy or spooky, as it easily could have been.

The late singer John DenverScenes in the John Denver: A Rocky Mountain High Concert showed him not only singing, but in other activities

Nor was it overly sappy in regards to the late country/folk/rock singer – though it occasionally teetered close to being that.

Here’s what the concert was, both good and bad, and what it revealed about Denver, 15 years after his death in a private plane crash:

Its presentation was uneven: Several of the show’s effects were pretty cool. After starting with a four-minute film (accompanied by the live players) telling the story of his life, the show started with Denver on screen introducing himself. It also was cool when he introduced other songs or told the audience to sing along and it did.

But it was awkward when the screen would show not Denver, but scenes of nature or even bands that were different than the one that was on stage (seeing some of the live players in scenes from more than 15 years ago was fun.) Or scenes of Denver skiing or riding horseback.

That didn’t feel like a concert – it felt like stuff you can watch on YouTube. And during songs such as “The Eagle and The Hawk,” the images of soaring birds actually distracted from the whole idea of having a live band.

Even on-screen interviews with Denver didn’t feel right.

It reminded how good some of Denver’s music really was: Whatever you thought of Denver, some of his music has clearly stood the test of time. The No. 1 hit “Annie’s Song” from 1974 is a really well-written song, and Denver’s voice on it was exceptional, as it was on several songs. “Sunshine on My Shoulders,” another No. 1 song from 1973, got a big cheer from the smallish crowd, which about half-filled the theater.

It reminded that some of Denver’s songs weren’t good: After opening the show with the minor hit “Farewell Andromeda (Welcome to My Morning)” – particularly uncomfortable because the video showed Denver wearing blue eye shadow (it was the 1970s, after all) – the show chose to include songs throughout Denver’s catalog. That meant some far weaker material, with too much of it in the second half: 1988’s “For You” (with a three-minute piano opening), “A Song for All Lovers,” 1974’s “This Old Guitar” and “Druthers,” the only song that had no video; simply Denver’s disembodied voice with the band.

It also showed the worst of Denver: Denver had some truly bad material, and unfortunately, the show contained some of it. There was the self-important “Rhymes and Reasons,” with its mumbo-jumbo lyrics such as “the children and the flowers/Are my sisters and my brothers.” And the preachy, self-important “You Say The Battle Is Over.”

It reminded of how short Denver’s stay at the top was: Only two of the Denver-written songs in the 23-song show were not released in the 1970s: “You Say The Battle is Over” (1980), and “Leaving On a Jet Plane,” which opened the encore and which was a 1969 hit for Peter, Paul and Mary. All seven of his Top 10 hits came in a burst of just more than four years, 1971-75. It was a bit odd, then, that the show omitted 1975’s “I’m Sorry,” Denver’s last chart-topper.

It featured some cool players and stories: The show’s five-man band was made up of four men who played in Denver’s bands, and gave each a chance to talk about memories of Denver.

For example, guitarist Jim Salestorm recalled, before singing a countrified version of Buddy Holly’s “Everyday” (Denver covered the song in 1972) that Denver had taught him it, and showed him tuning techniques. Salestorm also sang Michael Johnson’s “Ponies,” which Denver also covered, and Denver’s lessor-known “Downhill Stuff,” which wasn’t as successful. And, playing a Martin guitar, he noted Denver’s love of Martins, made in nearby Nazareth.

Woodwinds player Jim Horn recalled Denver letting him commandeer his private plane, and then the band saluted Horn, who has played with many of music’s top names in addition to Denver, by playing Canned Heat’s “Going Up the Country,” with its distinctive flute that Horn played.

When done right, it really worked: The show was significantly better when it did what the concept suggested: having the band play Denver’s best-loved songs with the singer’s image isolated on the screen with the lead vocals.

“Follow Me,” one of Denver’s earliest singles, was the first song on which an additional four-piece string section played, and was better. But the highlights were “Grandma’s Feather Bed,” “Take Me Home Country Roads” (which closed the main set and had the crowd clapping along) and “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” (the last song before intermission, when two women danced in front of the stage).

All used the simply format of recreating a concert. It was even better used on the show-closing “Rocky Mountain High.”

But the night’s best was the earlier “Calypso,” which not only used that format, but had a clip on which Denver sang particularly well and was tightly isolated in the projected image, and the live band was at its most dramatic.

Unfortunately, that also showed how good the entire show could have been. Salestorm noted early on that this was just the fifth show in the tour. Adjustments could make it a better show.

The comments to this entry have been closed.

JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.